Cheshire West & Chester Council has approved plans from Macbryde Homes for the development of 171 houses in Ellesmere Port, which the developer said would be one of the first private residential schemes in the area for five years.

The starter and family homes will be built on a 12-acre brownfield site off Cromwell Road. Work will begin straight away.

The £18m development will be constructed in three phases over four years.

Philip Palmer, land director for Macbryde Home, said: “This is an important development for Ellesmere Port, being one of the first private, new home developments for open market sale in the town since 2012.

“Our investment in the town is based on demand for new homes we are seeing across our portfolio and in our belief that Ellesmere Port is long overdue a significant development featuring quality starter and family homes.

“We estimate that in addition to fulfilling a local need for housing, the new development will contribute an additional £1.8m towards local spending power per annum, so benefiting the town as a whole.”

The development features a range of house types from two-bed homes to four-bedroom detached family properties. Prices are expected to start from £100,000.

The site was previously occupied by McAlpine but has been empty for more than 10 years.